Derby County have a history of making poor transfer decisions on the final day of the window, but no other deadline day can compete with that of August 31, 2016.
The Rams began the 2016/17 season poorly, winning just once in their first five games of the season, losing two and drawing 0-0 with Aston Villa and Brighton & Hove Albion.
Derby were 18th in the Championship following this less than inspiring start, having scored just one goal in a 1-0 victory away to Preston North End.
Nigel Pearson needed to make an impact with marquee signings, and after capturing Matej Vydra for a club record £8 million at the time, the Rams wanted to make more moves on deadline day.
However, what followed proved to be disastrous in years to come, losing a key player and academy graduate in Jeff Hendrick to Burnley, while they overspent on Watford’s Ikechi Anya, with the former Scotland international making just 38 appearances in the next four years.
Paul Warne must avoid any such disasters on Friday 30 August, by not rushing into moves for the sake of bringing in players.
Ikechi Anya failed to provide a threat for Derby County whilst Jeff Hendrick went on to better things
The Rams bought Anya for £4 million from Premier League Watford, with the 28-year-old signing a bumper £27,500-a-week contract for four years.
On the same day, Derby off-loaded Hendrick to the Clarets for a fee that was believed to be £10.5 million. The Irishman spent six years in-and-around the first-team at Turf Moor, scoring the winner against Nottingham Forest in just his seventh start.
It had been a long summer of trying to keep clubs away from the midfielder, after he starred for the Republic of Ireland at the European Championships in France, however, the eight-figure fee proved too much to turn down.
Although Derby were covered in midfield through signings in previous seasons, the addition of Anya never paid off.
He made 27 appearances in his first year at Pride Park, scoring once, but this was as good as it got for the now retired player.
In the next three years, Anya played just 11 more times, and eventually became an afterthought. Every so often, he featured for the development teams at the Rams’ training ground, Moor Farm, with supporters never getting to see the best of the once high-flying winger.
| Ikechi Anya’s Derby County Stats (All Competitions, as per Transfermarkt) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Apps | Goals | Assists |
| 2016/17 | 27 | 1 | 3 |
| 2017/18 | 11 | – | 2 |
| 2018/19 | – | – | – |
| 2019/20 | – | – | – |
Paul Warne must continue to be shrewd and avoid Ikechi Anya-like disasters on deadline day
Four years after Anya’s departure, the club is very different. Gone are the days of spending huge amounts of money on players that are slowly coming out of their prime. Instead, the Rams have spent very little, and are thinking more about the future rather than the present.
Derby have paid under £3 million in this window so far, with these fees coming through the signings of just three players; Ebou Adams, Jacob Widell Zetterström and Kenzo Goudmijn.
